This invention relates generally to trash removers, or scalpers, used alone or applied to hammermills, crackers, or to roll mill grinders and more particularly to trash removers for roll mill grinders used for grinding feed materials.
Roll mill grinders are employed to crush corn and other feed materials during processing of such feeds. The opposing rolls of the mills are set at a gap appropriate for the material being ground and the grind coarseness desired.
In operation of such roll mills, it is unavoidable that occasionally trash will be introduced along with the feed. This trash may consist of stones, corn cobs, plant stalks, husks or other large hard materials which may disrupt the roll gap allowing unground feed material to pass through the gap and possibly damaging the rolls or other parts of the roll grinder. This degrades the quality of the ground feed material and causes grinder down-time needed for clearing blockages and for making repairs.
Screens have been used to remove coarse matter in feed material, but such screens are subject to frequent blockage resulting in a significant loss of capacity and associated cost penalties when the mesh size is small enough to effectively remove such coarse matter or trash. The problem described has, thus, persisted.
The foregoing illustrates limitations known to exist in present devices and methods. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features more fully disclosed hereinafter.